Friday 31 December 2010
Saturday 4 December 2010
Friday 3 December 2010
Sunday 21 November 2010
Saturday 13 November 2010
DIY
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Monday 1 November 2010
Thursday 28 October 2010
Monday 25 October 2010
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Sunday 10 October 2010
Thursday 7 October 2010
Thursday 30 September 2010
I haven't a THING to wear
I haven't a THING to wear by frankie perry on Polyvore.com
Dedicated to page 110 of my items where I finally found my orange shoes.
Berlin, we have a problem....
Last night, finding that Shutter Island was still out (yes I am about 200 years behind the times because I live on a desert island in the middle of the Mediterranean, forgive me) Stef, in desperation, took Operation Valkyrie as the next best option.
So let's talk about Apollo 13. Apollo 13 is a film about a specific event, something that really happened, and something that happened in the life time of many of us. We know how the disaster unfolded, we know how it ended. Knowing the outcome however doesn't in any way detract from the tension - it's still an exhilarating nail biting ride from beginning to end. So why was Operation Valkyrie so endlessly boring? It was well written, well acted, well made. But I just couldn't bring myself to care because I knew that however brave these men were ( and they undoubtedly were)and however clever this plan was, in the end it was going to fail. Perhaps it's there that the difference lies - between a succesful and unsuccesful end - I don't know. Great to see Carice Van Houten in a film of this stature though, even though her part was miserably small.
As I'm on a film roll at the moment, I will just mention The Prince of Persia which we saw earlier this week. The sight of the Disney logo always makes my heart sink anyway and Jake, I love you but please don't ever do this to me - or yourself- again.
The wonderful Carice and her equally wonderful partner Sebastian..
Friday 24 September 2010
Batman Began....
...but last night on Italia 1 he had a really hard time finishing. Just when Bruce Wayne and I were really getting it on - ayo - Coitus Interruptus! Car ads, phone company ads, what's on tomorrow/the weekend/next week, a 5 minute news headlines round up (the usual litany of murders and fatal car crashes) and by the by when I saw that Belen Rodriguez jeans ad earlier in the evening, that nipple wasn't out there was it? Another Fiat ad at a crucial moment in the film did nothing to whet or increase my rapidly diminishing appetite - at one point I almost felt like getting dressed and leaving while Batman was slipping into something more black, leathery and uncomfortable.
The official running time for Batman Begins is 140 minutes. It started at 9.10 and without ads would have finished at 11.30. As it was Christian Bale and Michael Caine didn't wander off into the rubbly sunset until after midnight. Taking out 5 minutes for the news, that leaves approximately 25 minutes of advertising. Of course I don't expect to watch any film on TV without ads. I certainly don't expect to watch anything on Mediaset without it's usual mix of self congratulatory publicity, news and weather thrown in,and in fact 25 minutes spread over 3 hours doesn't sound a lot. But when it comes between me and this particular Caped Crusader I almost feel moved to kick the screen in.Oh and yes - that was your definition of high definition Italia 1? I don't think so.
Just as well I didn't throw my sandals, a courgette or anything else at the TV though, because I wouldn' have been able to watch The Wrestler and have my guts wrenched,my heart broken and cry a river for Mickey Rourke. I never thought I'd weep over seeing someone working on a deli counter but hey that's the Power of Mickey and long may it reign.
And obviously, it was a rented dvd, in the language it was supposed to be in, and without interruption ( not counting my sniffles)
Friday 17 September 2010
Wednesday 15 September 2010
Friday 10 September 2010
Ouch that hurt...
Stef goes a bbq-ing on Thursday evenings thus leaving me alone to twiddle my thumbs, eat my secret store of Cadbury's fruit and nut and guiltily watch films on You Tube. And while I can deny all responsibility as it wasn't me officer that uploaded them, I still get that creepy feeling all around me that I really shouldn't be doing this, I'm taking the crusts out of the mouths of Tom Hanks* children etc and find myself peering over my shoulder all the time...because no I wouldn't steal a handbag (weeeell I admit if I saw a Hermes Kelly bag laying in the gutter I'd be terribly tempted) and I wouldn't steal a car ( because I can't drive)and video piracy is a crime although I'm sure J.Depp would get away with it - but not Orlando Bloom though eh? Yes I still own some olde englishe video tapes.
Anyway there I was sneakily watching a YT film when suddenly my lovely new little HPG62 notebook went into loud electrifying buzz mode. The screen froze solid so I tried the power off switch, no go, so I pulled the plug...wtf still no go? No of course not as it has a battery you old fool. My teckie capabilities exhausted, I slammed the lid shut and shook it a bit, then turned it upside down. Houston I really had a problem. Being a poking sort of person I felt around the sliding catch things on the bottom then turned it upright and of course that bloody battery fell right out onto my big toe. OMG had I broken my new computer? Had my new computer broken my toe? No. I put the battery back, plugged in, switched on and everything was fine. At first I thought ok that was divine intervention because I was doing the Bad Thing and I won't ever watch a movie on YT again; then after about 15 minutes and really really wanting to see what happened next I decided it was just whoknowswhat and snuck back to the film. And it happened again! I didn't go back after that I'm telling you!
So what was that all about then? I am hoping and praying it was some sort of power 'thing' given that we have no earth wire, no fuses in the plugs and every socket in the house is dodgy ( welcome to 18th century Italy) so today I'm on battery power, my toes are well under the table and I'm in a galaxy far far away from YouTube.
* Oh don't be silly, you don't think I'd actually bother watching a Tom Hanks film on YT do you? I was watching a chinese musical of course........
Anyway there I was sneakily watching a YT film when suddenly my lovely new little HPG62 notebook went into loud electrifying buzz mode. The screen froze solid so I tried the power off switch, no go, so I pulled the plug...wtf still no go? No of course not as it has a battery you old fool. My teckie capabilities exhausted, I slammed the lid shut and shook it a bit, then turned it upside down. Houston I really had a problem. Being a poking sort of person I felt around the sliding catch things on the bottom then turned it upright and of course that bloody battery fell right out onto my big toe. OMG had I broken my new computer? Had my new computer broken my toe? No. I put the battery back, plugged in, switched on and everything was fine. At first I thought ok that was divine intervention because I was doing the Bad Thing and I won't ever watch a movie on YT again; then after about 15 minutes and really really wanting to see what happened next I decided it was just whoknowswhat and snuck back to the film. And it happened again! I didn't go back after that I'm telling you!
So what was that all about then? I am hoping and praying it was some sort of power 'thing' given that we have no earth wire, no fuses in the plugs and every socket in the house is dodgy ( welcome to 18th century Italy) so today I'm on battery power, my toes are well under the table and I'm in a galaxy far far away from YouTube.
* Oh don't be silly, you don't think I'd actually bother watching a Tom Hanks film on YT do you? I was watching a chinese musical of course........
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Tuesday 31 August 2010
'Local supermarket stocks foreign food shock'
Well I'll go to the top of our stairs - I went to our just round the corner Sisa this morning for loo roll ( glad I shared that?) and damn my eyes if they haven't introduced a weeny stand with 'foreign food' on it. You probably need to be a non Sardinian living in Sardinia to understand how unlikely this is. And as if in a Muraki inspired dreamscape, after writing about the tea garden yesterday, the first thing I saw was Wasabi Paste. OK, I still have half a jar of horseradish sauce that I bought back from the UK, but you know, I'm eking it out like it's caviar or something. I snappped up said paste and sod the cost but did draw the line at a tub of Sharwoods Hot Curry Powder - nearly six squid is about €4.00 too far. The price list above the stand did promise peanut butter but maybe they sold it all ?? No baked beans in Sisa as yet, but thanks to expat dedicated sourcing, I can pop up the other end of town to Conad for those.
Forgive me a small rant please - why oh why are the lemons €3 a kilo and imported? I mean, they grow on trees here, literally, everywhere. And why don't Italians eat vine leaves like the Greeks?
Oh and apropros of the tea garden - Himself sorted out the 'water feature' this morning - a nice ceramic bowl that has been lurking around for ever - and it has had holes drilled in the bottom..waaaa...now, I'll have to go and buy something, hence I'm sulking on the computer instead of being in zen mode and arranging pebbles and bits of wood. Still, onwards and downwards..tea anyone? without lemon, obviously.
Forgive me a small rant please - why oh why are the lemons €3 a kilo and imported? I mean, they grow on trees here, literally, everywhere. And why don't Italians eat vine leaves like the Greeks?
Oh and apropros of the tea garden - Himself sorted out the 'water feature' this morning - a nice ceramic bowl that has been lurking around for ever - and it has had holes drilled in the bottom..waaaa...now, I'll have to go and buy something, hence I'm sulking on the computer instead of being in zen mode and arranging pebbles and bits of wood. Still, onwards and downwards..tea anyone? without lemon, obviously.
Monday 30 August 2010
Smallest Tea House of the August Moon ever..
...For some time now, my yard ( or to make it sound a bit more classy - my cortile) has been veering towards the East. I've always loved Japanese style gardens and without being really conscious of it, our patio has taken on something of that look. And when we put up the bamboo fence ( you know, the Day Before THEY Came) the whole thing just fell into place. Talking of THEM, I hear we aren't the only people in the condo who are looking at the builders with a jaundiced eye. Various people are invoking their solicitors for various reasons, I'm certainly not entertaining any thought whatsover of spending money suing their sorry asses but shall content myself with holding back part of the final payment to cover the damage to the brickwork on the ground. No respectable Tea Garden has great big concrete and primer stains on its walkways after all.
So. My idea now is to have a small water feature at the opposite end to the shed. OK a bowl of water then. No carp pond obviously as anything with any sort of vital sign doesn't live long in our garden (witness the amount of geckos I've saved or not these last few weeks). It will be a shallow basin raised off the ground, with some stones, pebbles, bamboo etc as deco, and I'm going to try and find or make something that looks like a rain chain, again just as deco. The Tea House - my new uber romantic name for the little shed - will actually be functional as we are planning to put a camping cooker in there; admittedly this mainly to boil octupus and grill squid rather than have tea ceremonies, but hey ho, lets be imaginative here.
Another decor moment occured yesterday when I spied an impressive amount of driftwood on the beach just round the corner. I kind of hinted to Himself what a wonderful find this was but He seemed relieved that it was in a totally unaccessible place and therefore beyond my grasp. You'd think wouldn't you that he'd know me better than that by now.Where there's my will, there's always a way.
Here's a lush bit of inspiration, designed by Bryan Albright and built by Rhino Rock Landscapes for the Hampton Court Flower Show Courtyard Garden category in 1995. Let's see how the Sardinian version shapes up.....
So. My idea now is to have a small water feature at the opposite end to the shed. OK a bowl of water then. No carp pond obviously as anything with any sort of vital sign doesn't live long in our garden (witness the amount of geckos I've saved or not these last few weeks). It will be a shallow basin raised off the ground, with some stones, pebbles, bamboo etc as deco, and I'm going to try and find or make something that looks like a rain chain, again just as deco. The Tea House - my new uber romantic name for the little shed - will actually be functional as we are planning to put a camping cooker in there; admittedly this mainly to boil octupus and grill squid rather than have tea ceremonies, but hey ho, lets be imaginative here.
Another decor moment occured yesterday when I spied an impressive amount of driftwood on the beach just round the corner. I kind of hinted to Himself what a wonderful find this was but He seemed relieved that it was in a totally unaccessible place and therefore beyond my grasp. You'd think wouldn't you that he'd know me better than that by now.Where there's my will, there's always a way.
Here's a lush bit of inspiration, designed by Bryan Albright and built by Rhino Rock Landscapes for the Hampton Court Flower Show Courtyard Garden category in 1995. Let's see how the Sardinian version shapes up.....
Wednesday 18 August 2010
No, I won't say it....
....and anyway March wasn't THAT long ago for goodness sake. You know, after the debacle of the hard disc being eaten alive by aliens I tried to keep a kind of land-based blog.On paper. Writing with a pen. Oh I forgot, that's called a diary or something. And this was mainly to keep me from wiping down the kitchen work surfaces for hours at a time or talking to the cats or watching crap on the tv at 5.00 in the afternoon....you know, the Desperate Hours when re-runs of 24 seem fresh and new. And didn't I regret reading those Millenium novels in a week when I still had the computer and could have eaked them out a bit? When I could have wasted some of that reading time playing Farmville or doing random on ImdB?
At one point I found myself thinking hmmm this isn't too bad and maybe if I don't get a new computer I could become a real housewife with real life 'interests'. That lasted as long as it took Himself to suggest we went to Trony and checked out prices . I've always spurned lapdog in favour of Big Desktop with Accumuled Junk accessories but this bitty little notebook is growing on me. The touch pad caused a few pangs until after hours of searching 'My Touchpad keeps freezing' and advice relating to new drivers ( what, already?) I realised that I tapping over the on/off light. Sigh. DO take time to read the instructions Frankie, please. And anyway I have a USB mouse now thank goodness. It still seems like I've started from scratch though, as if everything that was is no longer and I should start again. Hell I've even revived the never used MySpace page which is a terrible place to be with no friends. I'll stay away from Twitter I think.
So that real life diary? Apparently I watched 21 grams (superb) and House of the Flying Daggers ( ah Takeshi) and cried in the shower over the building work 9th circle of hell. I actually had to go and make some coffee during The Grudge (is film fear age related?)and that wasn't even the original version. I enjoyed that Tim in Project Runway was dubbed into Italian by the same voice as R2D2 and to brush up my reading in Italian skills I laughed out loud all through the Codice Da Vinci- possible the most stupid book ever written. And this was off the back of Sir Noel Cowards fabulous dear boy Diaries so the culture shock was almost the death of me. But now I have this darling little notebook,all fresh and uncluttered and I'm loving the novelty of having Mahjongg at my fingertips whenever and wherever I want.
And I can't WAIT to get the cute pink bag to keep it in.
Happy Days..............Here's Takeshi seeing to the old bamboo...
At one point I found myself thinking hmmm this isn't too bad and maybe if I don't get a new computer I could become a real housewife with real life 'interests'. That lasted as long as it took Himself to suggest we went to Trony and checked out prices . I've always spurned lapdog in favour of Big Desktop with Accumuled Junk accessories but this bitty little notebook is growing on me. The touch pad caused a few pangs until after hours of searching 'My Touchpad keeps freezing' and advice relating to new drivers ( what, already?) I realised that I tapping over the on/off light. Sigh. DO take time to read the instructions Frankie, please. And anyway I have a USB mouse now thank goodness. It still seems like I've started from scratch though, as if everything that was is no longer and I should start again. Hell I've even revived the never used MySpace page which is a terrible place to be with no friends. I'll stay away from Twitter I think.
So that real life diary? Apparently I watched 21 grams (superb) and House of the Flying Daggers ( ah Takeshi) and cried in the shower over the building work 9th circle of hell. I actually had to go and make some coffee during The Grudge (is film fear age related?)and that wasn't even the original version. I enjoyed that Tim in Project Runway was dubbed into Italian by the same voice as R2D2 and to brush up my reading in Italian skills I laughed out loud all through the Codice Da Vinci- possible the most stupid book ever written. And this was off the back of Sir Noel Cowards fabulous dear boy Diaries so the culture shock was almost the death of me. But now I have this darling little notebook,all fresh and uncluttered and I'm loving the novelty of having Mahjongg at my fingertips whenever and wherever I want.
And I can't WAIT to get the cute pink bag to keep it in.
Happy Days..............Here's Takeshi seeing to the old bamboo...
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Redux
No I'm not going to start this post with 'Oh dear it's been so long...' because I really must stop doing that. However to recap, my love affair with Twitter was very short lived - I realised I can't function in soundbites every five minutes, and it was all too clever dicky for me anyway.
So I'm still waiting. Waiting for this interminable, cold miserable winter to end. Waiting to get rich, waiting to wake up as Monica Belluci, waiting to read the next book that will take my breath away, waiting for the right time to fly home and spend loads of money.
I haven't been on a plane in over a year and you know something, I really miss flying, even if the trip back here last time was somewhat historic- not being able to grasp, at 4.30 am, how to use the check in machine and actually faking whiney and old ( not that it was an Oscar winning stretch for me) when it came to paying for the inevitable excess baggage.( Ah, but those Ikea curtains were worth it) Now, today, as I sit here, I cannot believe that the words '..But I haven't got any money..' actually shot out of my mouth. And my nose didn't grow an inch either. What on earth possessed me to tell such a huge filthy lie? And what must I have looked and sounded like for that woman to let me off? I detest dishonesty, cheating of any sort makes me really angry, so what happened? When I related this top tale in my hall of shame to a friend on my return he burst out laughing and said 'You see, Francesca? You've become a real Italian!'. He's Italian too, so that makes it ok.
I haven't become so Italian that I can drink the tea though - it'll have to be two tea bags per cup until I can get on that plane back to blighty and get stocked up. It needs to be soon because we are scraping the bottom of the Bisto tin and that can't be allowed to continue..........
Today's pic is a real hoot - here's hippie-ish me back in the day before computers, cell phones and digital cameras when I thought long hair was all that. I was on holiday in Broadstairs with Nan and I fell in love for a few minutes with a young,married man, who I realise now must have fallen in love with me for a few minutes - because if not, what was that sweet kiss all about? Well yes, looking at that photo, it could have been pity I suppose.
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